Re: earplugs?

Yeah, I have the very same luck. After all these years of shows, my hearing remains acute. I'm pretty surprised between all the shows and the diving. My tinnitus doesn't bother me that much. As long as it stays at this level, I kind of like it. Free white noise machine.

Re: earplugs?

I saw the Black Angels last night in a fairly small venue (Music Hall of Williamsburg) and my ears were still ringing a bit when I woke up. I really ought to bring a pair of earplugs with me to shows just in case, though I've really only taken advantage during two My Bloody Valentine shows. I guess I've been pretty lucky, because I know I've been to some seriously loud gigs.

Re: earplugs?

i wish i had brought my earplugs to coachella this year. i usually bring em, and will put them in if im standing in front of a speaker.

we were in the do lab, and cought the end of krady... after their set we walked to the front of the stage... little did we know that we were directly infront of the bass cabs. so when freq nasty came on, we were annihilated with bass. which was chill for a bit, but it really fucked with my hearing for the rest of the weekend.

Re: earplugs?

I agree. Etymotic earplugs are awesome. With as many concerts as most of us go to it is critical to protect our eags....its just silly to attend a billion shows and not use earplugs when a price will surely be paid later in life.

Re: earplugs?

Same thing happened to me at Flaming Lips at Hollywood Forever. I wore a really crap, cheap pair of earplugs and my ears hurt for 4-5 days afterwards and I had bad headaches. I vowed I will never again attend a show without quality earplugs.

Re: earplugs?

This is extreme, but wear fucking earplugs

I'm a big proponent of earplugs when going to metal shows. For every idiot that says "if it's too loud, you're too old," try listening to anything the day after going to a show and you'll realize, hmm, maybe I'm really fucking with my ears too bad. After years of abuse, it really catches up with you. Listening to music is basically my job, so I have to make sure my ears can handle that burden or else I can't do my job properly. The reason I mention this is because a man stabbed himself after weeks of ringing in his ears, caused by attending a Them Crooked Vultures show. Full details:

Father of two Robert McIndoe, 52, was unable to sleep for three months after going to a rock concert that left him with a permanent ringing in his ear. He was watching supergroup 'Them Crooked Vultures' at Brixton Academy.
In the coming months Mr McIndoe faced an uphill struggle to to get proper treatment for the condition, Southwark Coroner's Court heard.
His wife eventually received a letter of referral to a hospital ear, nose and throat specialist on November 1 last year – the day after he apparently killed himself.
Shirley McIndoe told the hearing that the day after the gig last July, her husband was "cross with himself" for not taking ear plugs.
She said: "When it first happened he wasn't too bothered about it because he thought it would subside, and the friend he had been with also had ringing in his ears that day.
"But it was a constant irritation.
"He didn't get a night of sleep after that until he went to hospital."

Holy shit, how tragic is that? Granted this is an extreme case, but seriously people..when going to shows, especially if you're standing right up front, put on some headphones. Your future-self who is still able to hear will thank you. [ Telegraph via BrooklynVegan]

Re: earplugs?

Originally Posted by JustSteve

find an audiologist near you and call them. run $150-$200, if memory serves.

Yeah call up some audiologists near you and see if they make custom earplugs. Benefits are basically they fit your ears perfectly and evenly attenuate sound frequencies. Many of the "store bought" plugs significantly alter the quality of music you are hearing. This was my experience and why I decided to spring the extra cash for custom plugs. Cost me $175 for the pair.

Re: earplugs?

I have several members of my family that have lost significant levels of hearing. One of my grandfathers lost most of his from WW2. My father lost most hearing in one ear from being in a band when he was in his teens/twenties. I have several uncles and other family members with similar stories... I don't want to be one of them.

I go to a lot of concerts, and I know over the past 5 years I've lost some of my hearing ability. I think I'm going to get better earplugs than I usually use: wadded up tissue, etc. It helps, but I don't think it's enough.

Up until recently I only wore earplugs for metal or especially loud performances, but I'm tired of losing a little bit each time I don't.

Re: earplugs?

I bought a pair of Alpine earplugs for musicians for $20 on Amazon and used them for the first time at the Radiohead show last week. Couldn't have been happier with them after just using foam plugs the last few years. Definitely glad I invested in a pair. Maybe one of these days I'll splurge for a custom pair.

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At the end of the day it's not only about your hearing. Permanent or semi-parent tinnitus can be a nightmare. People complain of insomnia, chronic headaches, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and I could go on and on. Protect your ears or pay the price later in life. It is really as simple as that.

Re: earplugs?

I ordered 3 sets of these based on reviews in this thread. Hope they're good, they look comfortable.

I have long term Tinnitus, it's not so great, but mostly I tune it out. It gets you a medical card, and having a medical card makes you care less about your tinnitus.
It used to be a lot worse, I believe earplug use has kept from aggravating it.

Re: earplugs?

Originally Posted by Alchemy

I use Etymotic plugs. I've been getting my family and friends into them, too.

I hear great things about those and most likely will be buying them soon. I've heard from a few people that you need to be careful of which size you buy, but I figure the standards fit just about anyone.

Re: earplugs?

Originally Posted by Siege

I hear great things about those and most likely will be buying them soon. I've heard from a few people that you need to be careful of which size you buy, but I figure the standards fit just about anyone.

I accidentally bought the bigger ones at first, which themselves were still better than regular earplugs... But switching to the standard size made things better.

Originally Posted by canexplain

I try to be politically pc more than most here: As a dude, anyone who could put a shark up a gals pc body, is pretty creepy, different and interesting. Just saying big time ..... cr****